The big red pine has forty or fifty root knots and has been growing for a hundred years. At a height of more than one meter above the ground, a rectangular piece of bark was peeled off.
Because the body of the pine tree will continuously secrete oil to the outside, and then oxidized by the air, it will become a dark piece where the bark is peeled off.
But if you look carefully, you can still vaguely see the marks of knives and axes on it.
This is the pine tree sign, commonly known as the old sign by Northeasterners. It was a mark left on the nearby pine tree by the mountaineers after they carried out the ginseng here.
It records the year, month, and how many people released what kind of ginseng here to inform future generations.
Zhang Yuanmin came back with two sticks, leaned next to Zhao Jun, and asked in an awkward manner: "Brother, what are the scratches on these?"
Zhao Jun stretched out his hand, first pointed at the lower right corner of Lao Zhao and said: "This is the date, probably... 1926."
"Ah!" Zhang Yuanmin said: "This was 61 years ago."
"Well, this is an old village." Zhao Jun was surprised, then pointed to the upper left corner and said, "There are seven people laying sticks." At this point, he pointed to the center of the old village and said,
Zhang Yuanmin said: "There are a lot of big products released, and there are also six-grade (pi) leaves."
"Really?" Zhang Yuanmin heard this and hurriedly came over, opening his eyes and looking up.
Zhao Jun pointed his fingers and said to him: "There is not only a seedling with six-grade leaves, but also five-grade leaves."
Zhang Yuanmin exclaimed: "Oh my God! Why don't you send it again?"
According to the elders, ginseng is a spiritual thing and cannot be obtained by lucky people unless destined.
For ginseng, if you say digging, it is disrespectful. You have to say taking, you have to say lifting, and going into the mountains to lift ginseng is called releasing it into the mountains.
There are many more rules for setting up a mountain than for setting up a siege. When it comes to ginseng, you can’t just talk about it individually, you have to talk about the seedlings.
The number of leaves refers to the number of branches and leaves of ginseng, rather than the number of leaves.
Two leaves are called second-grade leaves, also called Erjiazi. Three leaves are called third-grade leaves, also called Dengtaizi. If there are more, they are fourth-grade leaves, fifth-grade leaves, and sixth-grade leaves.
The more leaves there are, the longer the ginseng will last. But if the water is full, it will overflow, and if the moon is full, it will lose. If the leaves of the sixth grade reach a certain age, they may turn into two-year-old ginseng.
Judging from the year recorded on the old sign, this is an old village.
As the saying goes: If you go around the old village, you will have enough food for a lifetime. There are ears of ginseng seeds on the top of the ginseng stems, which turn red in autumn and August and are called red hammers.
When ginseng seeds are mature and scattered around, or eaten and expelled by birds, they can take root and sprout.
Therefore, the old ginseng that once produced ginseng will produce ginseng again every year. In the old days, the mountain herders followed the rules passed down by Sun Liang, the leader of the country. Putting ginseng in it would leave a sign of old age and inform future generations.
But in a few years, people will no longer abide by this rule. If you want to know the old man, he must be tight-lipped.
Zhao Jun took the tree stick from Zhang Yuanmin's hand, then turned around to look at the old sign, and said to Zhang Yuanmin: "Brother, kneel down and kowtow to this old sign, and ask the old chief and the seniors to protect us from digging big things."
."
"Hey." Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanmin knelt down happily, but as soon as he knelt down on one knee, he suddenly stopped, turned around and asked Zhao Jun: "Brother, you asked me to kowtow, why don't you kowtow?"<
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Zhao Jun smiled when he heard this and said: "Didn't you hear the rumor in the village that the mountain god asked me to be arrested, so I won't kowtow. I'm afraid that after I kowtow, the mountain god will scare him away again." At this point,
Zhao Jun raised his hand and pointed at Lao Zhao, signaling to Zhang Yuanmin: "Kow."
After Zhang Yuanmin heard this and thought about it, he hurriedly knelt down on his knees and knelt down to the pine tree, muttering something about selling big goods and ensuring safety.
Zhang Yuanmin kowtowed three times in a row, and when he got up, he raised his hands to rub the dirt and gravel on his forehead. At this time, Zhao Jun asked him again: "Brother, can you brave the mountains?"
"I can!" Zhang Yuanmin said: "We have lived in the mountains since we were young, how can we not do this? I have heard it all."
"Okay!" Zhao Jun warned him again: "Brother, just stay here and don't move for a while. You don't have to do anything. I just call the mountain and you answer the mountain. Don't say anything else."
"Hey, hey, I know, brother!"
Zhao Jun raised his eyes and looked at the shady hillside at his feet. This was a piece of land, a dustpan-shaped mountain depression.
There is a clear forest on the hillside, with pine, oak, ash and other trees growing there. It is the beginning of spring at this time, and the new leaves on the branches have just closed their doors. The branches and leaves are not lush, and the sunlight that cannot be blocked is shining on the hillside.
This is a mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest, and ginseng only grows in this kind of place.
Zhao Jun squatted down and scraped his hands on the ground. At this time, the ground was full of dead branches and dead grass accumulated in last autumn and winter. Many of them were mixed in the soil. When they corrode, they will form nutrients and nourish the earth.<
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Zhao Jun grabbed a handful of dead branches and the soil under the rotten leaves. The soil was very soft, neither sticky nor dry.
Zhao Jun threw the soil on the ground, clapped his hands, and winked at Zhang Yuanmin. After waiting for Zhang Yuanmin to nod, Zhao Jun threw his hand and hit the tree stick in his palm against the tree next to him, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Master Mountain God"
, Boss, open the door!"
"The door is open!" This voice came from Zhang Yuanmin.
The voices of both men were very loud, and they were carried by the wind. Downwind, in a ditch and pond about three miles away from where Zhao Jun was, a group of people were digging wild vegetables there.
There were men and women in this group, old and young. Two men, both in their thirties, and four women, two old ladies and two young wives.
Hearing the sound of shouting, the four women had no reaction. The two men were shocked and looked left and right. At this time, the sound fell. They didn't know where the sound came from, so they only looked at each other in surprise.
The man in a green military jacket casually raised his hand and pointed to the sky, smiling and saying: "Lao Wu, take a look. Isn't it a tiger-to-horse race when we are in front of the mountain?"
When Lao Wu heard this, he blinked and asked, "Third brother, could he be someone who had his eyes gouged out?"
Gouging out the eyes means being powerful.
"It's okay." When the third brother heard this, he sneered: "There is no red hammer here, how can he find ginseng?"
Generally, ginseng is dug in July and August, after the ginseng seeds mature and turn red. At this time, there is a touch of red in the green bushes, making it easier to find.
But now, the grass has not been cut open, and the ginseng seedlings, like many wild vegetables, are just sprouting from the soil.
That's right, ginseng also has to go dormant. When winter comes, the old vines die. In the spring of the next year, new buds sprout. As soon as they emerge, the ginseng buds look like wild vegetables or weeds, with their heads drooping and the leaves all shrunk together.
Metaphorically speaking, it is like the hand of a patient suffering from cerebral thrombosis sequelae, condensing and grasping inward.
Where can I find such ginseng buds, which are covered with dead branches and leaves?
The four words "dig three feet into the ground" cannot be applied to this vast mountain.
Lao Wu thought for a while and asked: "It can't be some old leader, right?"
"The boss?" After the third brother heard this, he looked back at the white-haired old lady who was gouging out her mother-in-law's penis, and said with a smile: "Ask Aunt Xiao, how many of the eight villages in these ten miles can still bloom in spring?
The boss?"
"That's true."
As soon as Lao Wu responded, he heard a voice coming intermittently with the wind.
